At least he had her full attention. “Unless there was something else you had in mind?” He paused, the zipper on his jeans halfway down.
She shook her head.
“You sure?” He waited, hands on hips.
She shook her head again.
He grinned, pushing his jeans off and laying them over her dresser.
She giggled then. “What the hell are you wearing?”
He stared down. “Boxers.” The green repeating pattern wasn’t so bad. But over the front closure was the print of one large hundred-dollar bill.
“What is on them?” she asked, leaning forward.
“Money.” He bobbed his eyebrows at her. “Gives a whole new meaning to ‘show me the money.’”
Their eyes met. “I’ve seen it.” Her voice was husky.
He nodded. In two long steps, he’d flopped onto the bed beside her. “Good damn thing, too. I’m worn out. All this pretend relationship stuff is hard work.”
She was staring at him, conflicted.
He held his arms out to her. “Come here.”
She hesitated. “To sleep?”
“That’s the plan.” He yawned.
“You came here to sleep?” She was crawling up the mattress, hair falling over her shoulder, fighting back a yawn.
He hadn’t had a single expectation when he’d knocked on her door. “I came here to see you.”
She sat, staring down at him. “Jace.”
“Krystal.” He reached up, running his fingers through her hair.
“This is pretend,” she whispered, even as she leaned into his touch. “We agreed.”
“I know.” You keep telling yourself that.
“You’re making things all…mixed up.” Her gaze was mapping his tattoos. Then her finger, slowly, along the outside of his arm to the inside of his elbow. She shuddered.
“How?” He murmured, the dilation of her pupils and hitch in her breath challenging the whole sleep and comfort thing. He’d have to be dead not to respond to her. But, tonight, he wanted to hold on to this different, fragile intimacy building between the two of them.
“Now. Doing…this.” She shook her head, blinking. “Being…you.”
He caught her hand in his. “I knew you weren’t a fan of the name…”
She laughed, her hand squeezing his. “Stop.”
“I’m not doing a thing.” He tried to pull his hand away, but she held on. “I’m trying to sleep.”
With an eye roll, she lay down, her head resting on his chest. “Fine.”
“Fine.” He stared up at the ceiling, smiling.
Her hand rested lightly over his heart.